EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Kyrgyzstan: Rights Official Says Ex-President Was Less Repressive

EURASIA INSIGHT

KYRGYZSTAN: RIGHTS OFFICIAL SAYS EX-PRESIDENT WAS LESS REPRESSIVE
7/12/07
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from BBC Monitoring

Excerpt from report "Akayev did not persecute to such a degree.." by Kyrgyz newspaper Agym on 29 June; a subheading inserted editorially

[Apas Niyazaliyev, interviewer] Mr Akun, the number of persecutions is on the rise. The residents of Kemin, Talas and the list goes on...[ellipsis as published]

[Tursunbek Akun, head of the human rights commission under the president] We have witnessed critical events over the last few months. Take, for example, the by-election in Kemin. Around ten parliamentary hopefuls came forward. Supporters of Bermet Akayeva [ex-president Askar Akayev’s daughter], who was also running for parliament, staged a protest against ballot-rigging. A riot police team was sent there from Bishkek. They angered the protesters by surrounding them. That’s why the protesters started throwing stones at them. Windows were shattered. Even fights broke out between the protesters and the soldiers. After this, charges were brought against Bermet, and she was placed under house arrest. Her supporters held a news conference yesterday. They asked to free Bermet Akayeva as she was going to help them. Two to three people are now in custody over the incident in Kemin. They should also face administrative charges. Unfortunately, they have been charged with assaulting the police under Article 332. It is not good. It is a frightening order...[ellipsis as published]

[Apas Niyazaliyev] Will you tell me about the stoning incident in Talas please?

[Tursunbek Akun] I had talked to residents of Talas before the incident occurred. I told them jokingly I have come to hold talks. Do not block the road. Otherwise soldiers with machine guns will come. The residents of Talas have nothing to do with the incident. It is Akayev’s regime and the current government are to blame for it. By the way, Kulov made mistakes, too. He took the Dzheruy gold mine from Oxus and gave it to Global Gold. I do not know what he was given in return. Only God knows. In short, when a row erupted, Almaz Atambayev went there and was stoned at a meeting with people. Twelve to thirteen men involved in the incident are still in custody. They will stand trial over assaulting the police and a high government official. If convicted, they will serve 15 to 16 years in prison...[ellipsis as published]

Previous government was less repressive

[Apas Niyazaliyev] Will you please draw comparisons between the Akayev times and ours? Have we outdone?..[ellipsis as published]

[Tursunbek Akun] Akayev did not bring criminal charges for staging protests and rallies. We only faced administrative charges. As an organizer of protests, I used to spend up to 15 days in custody. Sometimes they would hold me only for five days. It was not necessary to resort to criminal charges under Akayev.

The men who are in custody today should also face only administrative charges. Instead, they are being frightened and beaten up. They now face charges under serious Articles. In the face of such intimidation, they are attempting to come to Bishkek in order to seek refuge in another country. I have met three to four of them. They appeared to be strongly in favour of applying for refugee status. They openly said how much they had cared about Kyrgyzstan for many years. On the one hand, we must understand them as there is some truth in their words. Since they are our nationals, we need to say how much patriotic they are. Among the detainees, there are those who care about the environment, human rights and their homeland. I support the release of such people from custody. I raised this issue with [head of the presidential administration] Medet Sadyrkulov yesterday. He supported me. The president now needs to make a decision, or the courts need to bring administrative charges. Otherwise, the people will leave the country and this will bring disgrace to us.

[Apas Niyazaliyev] Let us now talk about the Aksy tragedy. You are also seen as the main perpetrator. Do you think that nobody would have been killed, if people had not been stirred up in the first place?..[ellipsis as published]

[Tursunbek Akun] We have a wonderful saying such as: a clever thief always blames his victim. Kuluyev, Tokobayev, Rakishev and others were among those who went there saying that they would shoot people. Their words "shoot" ware captured on video. If the video had not been found, we would have long been in prison. It is known who did what. Azimbek and I have been with the residents of Aksy through thick and thin for the last five to six years. We have seen the grief of those whose partners died. We know their children and they know us well. Six people were killed and families lost their members because of Kuluyev, Tokobayev and Rakishev. Unfortunately, Akayev’s government could not punish the perpetrators. Karypkulov, Kudaybergenov and Abyshkayev and others should have been brought to justice immediately after the tragedy in 2002.

[Passage omitted: correspondent’s opinion about the Aksy events]

Editor�s Note: Source: Agym, Bishkek, in Kyrgyz 29 Jun 07

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